Computerized order entry system and method

Claims

We claim:

1. A computerized system for the placement of an order for an item by a user, the system including at least one data entry device having a display, the computerized system comprising:

(a) storage means for storing offer information relating to a plurality of available multi-attributed offers;

(b) user-driven offer search means for locating a particular multi-attributed offer from the plurality of available offers, the user-driven offer search means comprising:

(i) sequence-independent input means for allowing category search criteria to be entered in any sequence desired by the user; and

(ii) offer selection means for designating one or more search categories in response to the category search criteria, and for allowing selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from the available offers that are common to the designated one or more search categories;

(c) attribute selection means for identifying one or more offer attributes and a set of attribute choices for each of the one or more offer attributes upon selection of the particular multi-attributed offer, and for allowing sequence-independent selection of an attribute choice from each set of attribute choices; and

(d) stock-keeping-unit designation means for automatically designating a stock-keeping-unit identifier for the item corresponding to the particular multi-attributed offer selected via the offer selection means and having the attribute choices selected via the attribute selection means,

whereby the item is identified through sequence-independent navigation of multiple search categories and offer attributes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sequence-independent input means comprises means for allowing the category search criteria to be entered in any sequence expressed by a person desiring the placement of the order.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the offer selection means comprises source designation means for designating one of the one or more search categories as a source search category.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the offer selection means further comprises:

source display means for displaying a plurality of electronic images representing a plurality of sources within the source category; and

source selection means for allowing selection of one of the plurality of sources represented by the source display means.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the offer selection means further comprises:

offer search criteria input means for receiving offer search criteria;

source segment display means for displaying one or more electronic images of a portion of a selected one of the plurality of sources in response to the offer search criteria; and

means for allowing selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with the portion of the selected one of the plurality of sources.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the source segment display means comprises page view means for locating a plurality of pages within the selected one of the plurality of sources, and for displaying electronic images of the plurality of pages in response to the offer search criteria.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the offer selection means further comprises:

source display means for displaying a plurality of electronic images representing a plurality of sources within the source category;

source filtering means for receiving source search criteria, and for directing the source display means to display a second plurality of electronic images representing a second plurality of sources which meet the source search criteria;

source selection means for allowing selection of one of the second plurality of sources represented by the source display means;

offer search criteria input means for receiving offer search criteria;

source segment display means for displaying one or more electronic images of a portion of a selected one of the second plurality of sources in response to the offer search criteria; and

means for allowing selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with the portion of the selected one of the second plurality of sources.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the offer selection means comprises offer-type designation means for designating one of the one or more search categories as an offer-type search category.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the offer selection means further comprises manufacturer data capture means for capturing manufacturer search criteria, and for designating another one of the one or more search categories as a manufacturer search category in response to the manufacturer search criteria.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the offer selection means further comprises:

offer grouping means for providing a plurality of offer search groups, and for providing one or more offer group items in each of the plurality of offer search groups;

offer group item selection means for allowing selection of one of the offer group items in each of the plurality of offer search groups; and

means for allowing selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with all of the offer group items selected.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the offer grouping means comprises means for representing the one or more offer group items in a first one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer categories, wherein each of the plurality of available offers is associated with at least one of the offer categories.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the offer grouping means further comprises means for representing the one or more offer group items in a second one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer classes, wherein the one or more offer classes are subsets of a selected offer category, and wherein each of the plurality of available offers associated with the selected offer category is associated with at least one of the offer classes.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the offer grouping means further comprises means for representing the one or more offer group items in a third one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer sub-classes, wherein the one or more offer sub-classes are subsets of a selected offer class, and wherein each of the plurality of available offers associated with the selected offer class is associated with at least one of the offer sub-classes.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the offer selection means comprises manufacturer designation means for designating one of the one or more search categories as a manufacturer search category.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the offer selection means further comprises:

manufacturer search means for providing a plurality of manufacturer choices, and for allowing selection of one of the manufacturer choices; and

means for allowing selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with the selected one of the manufacturer choices.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the sequence-independent input means comprises a plurality of buttons electronically representing corresponding graphical representations of a plurality of category search criteria choices, and further comprises category search criteria selection means for allowing selection of one or more of the plurality of category search criteria choices and for designating the one or more search categories in response thereto.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the sequence-independent input means comprises one or more category data capture fields for entering the category search criteria.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the attribute selection means further comprises attribute description means for providing descriptive information concerning at least one of the one or more offer attributes identified by the attribute selection means.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the attribute description means comprises attribute display means for displaying one or more electronic images illustrating one or more attribute choices in the set of attribute choices.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising offer image display means for displaying an electronic image depicting a representation of the item.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the stock-keeping-unit designation means comprises:

offer combination data capture means for displaying a selectable list of all combinations of the selected multi-attributed offer and each of the attribute choices within each set of attribute choices identified by the attribute selection means; and

offer combination selection means for allowing selection of one of the combinations, each combination being associated with one of the stock-keeping-unit identifiers which is thereby automatically designated upon selection of the combination.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the offer combination data capture means comprises offer combination filter means for removing from the selectable list those of the combinations which do not have the attribute choices selected by the attribute selection means.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the combination filter means displays only one of the combinations when an attribute choice from each of the sets of attribute choices has been selected.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising offer image display means for displaying an electronic image depicting a representation of the item corresponding to the combination displayed by the offer combination data capture means.

25. A computerized method for the placement of an order for an item by a user, the method comprising the computer-executed steps of:

(a) storing offer information relating to a plurality of available multi-attributed offers;

(b) locating a particular multi-attributed offer from the plurality of available offers, the step of locating a particular multi-attributed offer comprising the steps of:

(i) entering category search criteria in any sequence desired by the user;

(ii) designating one or more search categories in response to the category search criteria; and

(iii) selecting the particular multi-attributed offer from the available offers that are common to the designated one or more search categories;

(c) identifying one or more offer attributes and a set of attribute choices for each of the one or more offer attributes upon selection of the particular multi-attributed offer;

(d) selecting an attribute choice from each set of attribute choices; and

(e) designating a stock-keeping-unit identifier for the item that corresponds to the selected multi-attributed offer having the selected attribute choices,

whereby the item is identified through sequence-independent navigation of multiple search categories and offer attributes.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of entering category search criteria comprises the step of allowing the category search criteria to be entered in a sequence expressed by a person desiring the placement of the order.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of designating one or more search categories comprises the step of designating one of the search categories as a source search category.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of selecting the particular multi-attributed offer comprises the steps of:

displaying a plurality of electronic images representing a plurality of sources within the source category; and

selecting one of the plurality of electronic images representing a corresponding one of the plurality of sources.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of selecting the particular multi-attributed offer further comprises the steps of:

entering offer search criteria;

displaying one or more electronic images of a portion of a selected one of the plurality of sources in response to the offer search criteria; and

selecting the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with the portion of the selected one of the plurality of sources.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of displaying one or more electronic images of a portion of a selected source comprises the step of displaying electronic images of pages of the selected one of the plurality of sources.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of selecting the particular multi-attributed offer comprises the steps of:

displaying a plurality of electronic images representing a plurality of sources within the source category;

entering source search criteria;

displaying a second plurality of electronic images representing a second plurality of sources which meet the source search criteria; and

selecting one of the second plurality of electronic images representing a corresponding one of the second plurality of sources.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of designating one or more search categories comprises the step of designating one of the one or more search categories as an offer-type search category.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of designating one or more search categories further comprises the steps of capturing manufacturer search criteria, and designating another one of the one or more search categories as a manufacturer search category in response to the manufacturer search criteria.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of selecting the particular multi-attributed offer comprises the steps of:

providing a plurality of offer search groups and one or more offer group items in each of the plurality of offer search groups;

selecting one of the offer group items in each of the plurality of offer search groups; and

selecting the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with all of the offer group items selected.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the step of providing a plurality of offer search groups comprises the step of representing the one or more offer group items in a first one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer categories, wherein each of the plurality of available offers is associated with at least one of the offer categories.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of providing a plurality of offer search groups further comprises the step of representing the one or more offer group items in a second one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer classes, wherein the one or more offer classes are subsets of a selected offer category, and wherein each of the plurality of available offers associated with the selected offer category is associated with at least one of the offer classes.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of providing a plurality of offer search groups further comprises the step of representing the one or more offer group items in a third one of the plurality of offer search groups as one or more offer sub-classes, wherein the one or more offer sub-classes are subsets of a selected offer class, and wherein each of the plurality of available offers associated with the selected offer class is associated with at least one of the offer sub-classes.

38. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of designating one or more search categories comprises the step of designating one of the one or more search categories as a manufacturer search category.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of selecting the particular multi-attributed offer comprises the steps of:

providing a plurality of manufacturer choices;

selecting one of the manufacturer choices; and

selecting the particular multi-attributed offer from those of the available offers which are associated with the selected one of the manufacturer choices.

40. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of entering category search criteria comprises the step of selecting one of a plurality of buttons electronically representing corresponding graphical representations of a plurality of category search criteria choices.

41. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of entering category search criteria comprises the step of entering the category search criteria into one or more category data capture fields.

42. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of identifying one or more offer attributes further comprises the step of providing descriptive information concerning at least one of the one or more offer attributes.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the step of providing descriptive information comprises the step of displaying one or more electronic images illustrating one or more attribute choices in the set of attribute choices.

44. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of displaying an electronic image depicting a representation of the item.

45. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of designating a stock-keeping-unit identifier comprises the steps of:

displaying a selectable list of all combinations of the selected multi-attributed offer and each of the attribute choices within each set of attribute choices; and

selecting one of the combinations, each combination being associated with one of the stock-keeping-unit identifiers which is thereby designated upon selection of the combination.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying a selectable list comprises the step of removing from the selectable list those of the combinations which do not have the selected attribute choices.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of removing from the selectable list comprises the step of allowing only one of the combinations to be displayed by the step of displaying a selectable list, when an attribute choice from each of the sets of attribute choices has been selected.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of displaying an electronic image depicting a representation of the combination displayed by the step of displaying a selectable list.

FIELD OF INVENTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.

The present invention relates to a computerized order entry system and method. The present invention is particularly useful in, but is not limited to, the telemarketing industry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of structural complexes have been employed in the prior art by vendors of retailed products and services for storing products and for selling those products to consumers. Typically, the products are transported from the storage facility, such as a warehouse, to the store in which the products are sold. Consumers can purchase the products by going to the store during its business hours.

While this manner of selling products is commonplace, it has many disadvantages. One major disadvantage is cost. First, there are considerable start-up costs, such as the cost involved in furnishing the store. There is also the cost involved in maintaining the store. Typically, the vendor must not only provide the store itself, but also a parking lot capable of accommodating a reasonable number of vehicles of consumers who will visit the store. The rent on such a piece of property can be quite substantial, especially when the property is located in a major metropolitan area.

Due to the high costs of real estate, vendors are often forced to either locate their stores outside of metropolitan areas or to settle for smaller-sized facilities. In the former case, such locations are often less convenient for consumers. In the latter case, the vendor must sacrifice large product selection, thereby limiting the choice of products he or she may provide to the consumer.

Another problem associated with selling products through stores is theft. Vendors are forced to either absorb such losses or to install and maintain security systems, both of which further increase operating costs. Typically, these costs are passed on to the consumer through increased prices.

As a result of these disadvantages, it is becoming increasingly attractive to vendors to go directly to the consumer as a means to market their goods, such as through mail order, cable television, telemarketing and other direct response channels. There are many advantages to such direct marketing approaches. First, such channels are more convenient since they eliminate the need for the consumer to visit a store. The consumer need only fill out a form or pick up the phone to place his or her order. Second, such channels can be made available to the consumer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Third, such channels have no geographic limits. These channels can be reached by the consumer from anywhere and everywhere.

To be truly effective, however, direct response channels must accommodate the taking and processing of orders in a fast, efficient and yet simple manner. In a typical telemarketing system, the time for an agent to process a customer's telephone call affects the overall performance of the system. For example, if the time for an agent to collect customer information is long, the business may have to employ more agents and subscribe to more telecommunications facilities (e.g., telephone lines) in order to be able to answer telephone calls from other customers in a timely manner. Moreover, if it takes the agent a substantial amount of time to place the order, the business may lose the customer.

The introduction of the computer has helped somewhat in this respect. Computerized shopping systems, however, are typically operated by users that are not computer-educated. As a result, the quality of the user interface is critical. The system must be designed to have a low learning curve.

The system must also be able to handle vast amounts of information. For example, when a customer places an order from a catalog, the agent typically keeps copies of recent catalogs and manually thumbs through them to look up and confirm the products requested by the customer. This procedure can be quite cumbersome. Moreover, since the customer is unable to see the physical product, it is critical to convey accurate product information to the customer.

The system also must be able to support changes due to functional modifications, enhancements and growth. The user interface typically used by computerized shopping systems, however, is embedded in the code of the program. As a result, the user is constrained by the system and not driven by the customer's needs and desires.

Accordingly, a need exists for a customer driven order entry system that permits placement of an order in a timely and efficient manner. There is also a need for an order entry system that provides for the normalization of data in order to limit redundancies of data, and for access to a variety of database management systems. There is a further need for an order entry system that supports enhanced marketing strategies and streamlined operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a computerized system and method for the placement of an order for an item that is identified through sequence-independent navigation of multiple search categories and offer attributes.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a computerized system for the placement of an order for an item by a user is provided. The system includes at least one data entry device which has a display. A storage mechanism provides for the storing of offer information relating to a plurality of available multi-attributed offers. A computerized offer searching mechanism allows the user to locate a particular multi-attributed offer from the plurality of available offers. The offer searching mechanism includes data inputs for allowing category search criteria to be entered in any sequence desired by the user, and also includes an offer selection mechanism for designating search categories in response to the category search criteria. The offer selection mechanism then allows selection of the particular multi-attributed offer from the available offers that are common to the designated search categories. The system further includes an attribute selection mechanism for identifying offer attributes, and a set of attribute choices for each of the offer attributes, upon selection of the particular multi-attributed offer. The attribute selection mechanism also allows sequence-independent selection of an attribute choice from each set of attribute choices. A stock-keeping-unit designator automatically designates a stock-keeping-unit identifier for the item corresponding to the selected multi-attributed offer having the selected attribute choices.

In another embodiment of the invention, a computerized method for allowing a user to place an order for an item, where the item is identified through sequence-independent navigation of multiple search categories and offer attributes. The method includes the step of storing offer information that relates to multi-attributed offers. A particular multi-attributed offer can be located by entering category search criteria in any sequence desired by the user, designating one or more search categories in response to the category search criteria, and selecting the particular multi-attributed offer from the available offers that are common to the designated search categories. The method further includes the step of identifying one or more offer attributes, and a set of attribute choices for each of the one or more offer attributes, upon selection of the particular multi-attributed offer. An attribute choice is selected from each set of attribute choices. Finally, a stock-keeping-unit is designated for the item that corresponds to the selected multi-attributed offer having the selected attribute choices.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and corresponding drawings. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters generally refer to the same parts or elements throughout the views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computerized order entry system.

FIG. 2 is a business data model for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a preferred logical data model for the order entry system of FIG. 1 as shown more fully in FIGS. 4A-4D.

FIG. 4A is a preferred logical data model of the company structure of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4B is a preferred logical data model of the customer structure of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4C is a preferred logical data model of the product structure of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4D is a preferred logical data model of the order structure of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are an interconnected block diagram used to illustrate the meaning of the symbols in the data models of FIGS. 4A-4D.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual block diagram of a functional data model of the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a preferred summary user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a preferred user interface for the summary module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a preferred detailed dialog flow for the summary module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a preferred detail dialog flow for the name capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a preferred name capture user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 is a preferred detail dialog flow for the billing module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 13 is a preferred order payment user interface for the billing module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 14 is a preferred credit card entry user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a preferred object inheritance structure for a payment object for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 16 is a preferred detailed window data flow for a user interface of the billing module of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 17A and 17B together provide a preferred detail dialog flow for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 18 is a preferred source search user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 19 is a preferred page search user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 20 is a preferred page offer user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 21 is a preferred object inheritance structure for an offer object of the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 22 is a preferred multi-attribute user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 23 is a preferred attribute information user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 24 is a preferred source offer user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 25 is a preferred offer search user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 26 is a preferred manufacturer search user interface for the order capture module of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 27A and 27B together provide a detailed dialog flow for the shipping module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 28 is a preferred shipping user interface for the shipping module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 29 is a preferred shipping calendar user interface for the shipping module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 30 is a preferred marketing function of the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 31 is a preferred application point maintenance user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 32 is a preferred marketing promotion user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 33 is a preferred marketing objects user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 34 is a preferred marketing objects maintenance user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 35 is a preferred promotion maintenance user interface for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 36 is a preferred promotion process maintenance for the order entry system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which is shown by way of illustration of a specific embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. This embodiment is described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates an order entry system 10. The preferred network configuration of order entry system 10 includes a plurality of servers 6, data entry devices 7, back-end systems 8 and databases 9, and Program 25, which represents a computer program, or program code on a computer-readable memory for directing the actions of order entry system 10. Program 25 preferably resides in servers 6, but could alternatively reside in data entry devices 7. In a preferred form, servers 6 are Unix.RTM.--based, data entry devices 7 are personal computers running Microsoft.RTM. Windows software, back-end systems 8 include inventory control and distribution applications, and databases 9 are relational databases, such as Oracle.RTM. or Sybase.RTM.. The network configuration preferably supports the TCP/IP network protocol.

Data entry devices 7 can be any type of data entry device, such as computers, multimedia kiosks or interactive television. In addition, the number of servers 6 is not critical. However, in order to improve performance, system 10 preferably distributes data over multiple servers so as to minimize the contention on any single server. The architecture of the preferred system also supports high performance and high scalability by using database segmentation, data location transparency, and multi-threading strategies. Such an architecture is critical for rapidly expanding businesses with high seasonal peaks.

The preferred order entry system 10 uses traditional programming language with fourth generation language tools, both using object based mechanisms. Unlike process-driven languages, this type of language operates in an event-driven mode. The object based event driven nature of the application allows the system to map logic against the business rules that are processed when the user initiates an event (e.g. "clicking" on a button, exiting a specific data capture field, etc.).

In addition, system 10 preferably uses a graphical user interface (GUI) which provides an efficient interaction between the user and the system. GUI allows system 10 to react to each keystroke instead of having to wait for an entire screen to be filled. This allows the application to execute fewer instructions per interaction, and thereby respond to the user more quickly. This level of responsiveness both reduces errors and enhances user satisfaction. It also provides a customer driven flow whereby the flow is driven by customer requests, rather than system constraints.

Order entry system 10 is preferably an object oriented system. With object oriented systems, functions performed by the system are each represented by an object. An object is a software packet containing a collection of related data and methods for operating on that data. Each method is made available to other objects for the purpose of requesting services of that object. Each object includes a set of related sub-functions. Accordingly, each object is preferably arranged as a structured collection of sub-functions, while each function should be arranged as a structured collection of objects.

Inheritance is a feature of object-oriented systems through which a new object can absorb the properties of an existing object. As a result, new objects (e.g., functions) may be added with minimal changes to existing objects, thereby significantly reducing development time and maintaining a consistent user interface to the user. Maintenance is also easier thro